Pilatus has obtained full rough field certification for its PC-24 Super Versatile Jet, clearing the aircraft for operations on grass, wet earth and snow. The company completed testing for dry sand and gravel in 2018. The tests required by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for the certification took place at locations including Woodbridge, England, for wet dirt surfaces; Kunovice, Czech Republic, and Poitiers, France, for grass runways; and Kuujjuaq, Canada, for snow-covered gravel runways.
‟Our PC-24 has proven that it is capable of flying the full range of missions for which it was developed,” said Pilatus Chairman Oscar J. Schwenk. “The Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia and operators in North America or Africa already use rough field runways on a regular basis, proving just how unique the PC-24 is.”
Pilatus says it specifically developed the PC-24 for use on rough fields. The aircraft has a 2,000-NM range, 440-knot maximum cruise speed, 2,500-pound payload and paved-runway takeoff distance of 2,930 feet. The Williams FJ44-4A-powered, single-pilot-certified jet can carry a pilot and eleven passengers. As previously reported by AVweb, the PC-24 received its FAA and EASA type certifications in December 2017.
